I remember being on-set with Director Timothy Busfield a couple years after his time on The West Wing. He was directing a television pilot for Lifetime, which I had the fortunate pleasure of working on. My character had a comedic line that I initially thought we didn’t see eye to eye on. After take 1 he pulled me aside and gave me an adjustment. I said, “Are you sure?” His reply, “I think so.” On take 2 I committed to his approach. Right before rolling on take 3, he said, “Dustin, just do what you were doing before.” And that was it! Take 3 became our hero. 

 Reading this it might sound like I was in the right, and he was in the wrong. That’s not true at all. Timothy knew I was on the right path, but he also saw that I was pushing the moment a bit too much. By playing take 2 in a completely different way, I gave myself the break I needed to bring back the spontaneity to take 3, a very important lesson I’ve never forgotten. 

It’s this interwoven give-and-take between actors and all of the on-set creators that I try to assist with when I’m behind the camera, particularly with an ensemble piece like this one. 

The characters you see on-screen were developed at Monday night gatherings. We call ourselves The Artist’s Den. The next step was figuring out an environment where all these eccentric personalities could co-exist. And then it came to me: a pickle ball competition! 

I intentionally kept long shots with no cutaways because I wanted to give the actor’s space to show their craft. I believe that if you want to honor an actor, you need to allow them to create the moment, and part of that is giving them room to set the pace. When you’re shooting straight on, it’s very clear who’s controlling the scene: the actor.